FLORENCE – In they came, a handful there, a baggie there. A dusty pill bottle, a small shoebox, all adding their contents to the cardboard boxes destined to be weighed, logged and sent to the incinerator.

Saturday, Northern Kentuckians dropped off their old prescription drugs as the Florence Police Department was one of several agencies in the region to take part in the Drug Enforcement Agency's National Drug Take-Back Day, collecting unused medications to keep them from unintended use.

By day's end, Florence Police had collected 121 pounds of pharmaceuticals at its offices, ranging from cholesterol medication and diabetes drugs to potent painkillers.

The take-back days provide an important service, according to Florence Police Sgt. Craig Burris, who manages the program for the city. First, it provides a safe vehicle for their disposal, since most people getting rid of old medications in the past would simply flush them down the toilet.

"That, ultimately, gets back into the water supply and contaminates the water," said Burris. "Of course, the other reason is a problem of epidemic proportions of people using those controlled substances when they're not supposed to be. You know, Grandma doesn't need her pain medication anymore, so someone else in the family's coming over and taking it."

Area police have responded to numerous cases of overdose, he said, when that was the case. Nationally, more Americans abuse prescription drugs than use cocaine, heroin and hallucinogens combined, according to the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

"It's dangerous to have them around. This is a much better way to get rid of them," said Burris.

Collected, weighed and logged, the department then takes the drugs to a DEA drop-off site in Cincinnati. Ultimately, the collected boxes of drugs are taken to Indianapolis, where they are incinerated.

Along with its participation in the two DEA Take-Back days the agency has each year, Florence also has two drop boxes in its lobby where residents can drop off unneeded medication 365 days a year. Because of that effort, the department collects more drugs annually than any other agency in Northern Kentucky.

Last year, the department collected 113 pounds of prescription medications and just under seven pounds of over-the-counter drugs.

That was just a part of the 324 tons of medications collected by the DEA program, which sponsors National Take-Back Days twice a year.

On Saturday, the Florence drop-off saw brisk business as volunteers manned the site from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Nearly an hour before closing, members of Florence VIPs had packaged five 1-by-3-feet white cardboard boxes filled with the collected drugs. A sixth box was well on its way to being filled, as well. And the boxes were filled to the brim.

"We had to take some of the drugs out of there and put them in a new box just so we could get the box closed," said one volunteer, pointing at the five sealed boxes ready to ship to the DEA. "They're heavy, too."

YEAR-ROUND DRUG DISPOSAL

Take-Back Day helps keep potentially addictive and deadly prescription drugs out of the wrong hands, but medications can also be disposed of year-round at local drop boxes. The list of drop box sites expanded recently after The Enquirer partnered with law enforcement agencies to make 10 secure prescription drug drop boxes accessible to the public during those agencies' office hours. Pills are accepted, but not liquids or syringes.